Alayna Alexander | staff writer

Duquesne women’s basketball fell to Robert Morris 64-62 in a non-conference matchup at UPMC Events Center on Tuesday night, despite sophomore forward Harriett Ford posting a double-double. The loss ended the Dukes’ undefeated start to their 2025 campaign.

The Colonials took the lead 13 seconds in with two free throws by Bailey Kuhns, and would only lose the lead twice throughout the rest of the game. The contest remained tight, with neither team seeing more than a 10-point deficit.

Duquesne picked up their tempo and carried a 3-point lead into the second quarter, building a lead as large as 7 before finding themselves in a 2-point hole at halftime.

Head Coach Dan Burt once again showcased his quick, full-court substitutions, keeping Duquesne’s opponent on their heels while giving his young team important reps.

“It’s helped us speed up our opponents,” sophomore guard Mackenzie Blackford said. “Especially in the first quarter, you saw us wear down Robert Morris, and that’s when we went on one of our runs. But it’s an adjustment for sure.

Duquesne has a young team this season, with only three juniors, and the rest of the team as underclassmen. Burt admitted that the team was ill-prepared for the Colonials.

“Tonight was a great example of our inexperience and our youth playing against a team that is very well coached and outstandingly prepared,” Burt said. “It is certainly a bitter loss because we have very high expectations to win every single game.”

Although unpreparedness can be a side-effect of such a youthful team, Blackford has recognized that having a team so close in age has helped with morale.

“Our youth has given us such a joyful and fun environment,” Blackford said. “Since we’re all the same age, we all get along really well.”

Ford tallied 15 points and 10 boards, leading to her first double-double of the season. Blackford led scoring for the Dukes with 16 points.

Blackford has stepped into a starting role after seeing limited time as a freshman. Now as one of Duquesne’s few experienced players, she’s been able to step into a leadership role to help guide the new-look Dukes.

“Its been a little bit of a challenge,” Blackford said. “But it’s also been super fun, and I’m grateful to have a bigger role this year. But I think I can do a little bit better in helping others feel more comfortable with my experience.”

Freshman guard Alexis Bordas significantly helped to neutralize the Colonials offensive possessions, tying for a game-high four steals. Blackford, Duquesne’s 3-point specialist, fell short from behind the arc, only shooting 2-for-8.

Physicality and preparation helped the Colonials pull out the win against the Dukes, something they have not done since 2009 after a 69-61 triumph on the Bluff.

Almost one-third of the Colonial’s total offense was recorded by Noa Givon, who scored a game-high 21 points. Three of her teammates collected five rebounds each.

Myriam Traore was the second highest scorer for the Colonials with 13 points. Jada Lee matched Blackford with four steals.

The Colonial bench shined during the contest, scoring half of the team’s total points with 32. The team went 21-for-54 from the field and 9-for-23 behind the arc. The Dukes shot 41.6% from the field, while shooting 3 of 16 from three-point range.

“Every possession matters,” Blackford said. “We can’t get lackadaisical in the beginning of the game and give up baskets or take bad shots. We only lost by 2 points. If we score on one of those possessions where we came up empty, it’s a different game.”

The game was a turnover frenzy for both teams, with Duquesne racking up 22 turnovers, and Robert Morris following closely behind with 21. This is the most turnovers Duquesne has recorded in a single game this season.

“Once we turned them over, we turned the ball over ourselves,” Burt said. “We can’t continue to do that.”

The Dukes looked very different when they met the Colonials last year at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. A team packed full of veterans, including record-breaker Megan McConnell, took the lead in the third quarter and ran with it, defeating the Colonials 77-61.

Burt believes that his team has learned a lesson through this loss, and realizes his team is still young and has room for improvement.

“This is a great lesson for us early in the season. The fact is, we got out-toughed tonight by grown women,” Burt said. “We have a bunch of freshmen and sophomores that have to understand second chances, and it’s going to be like a fist fight every night going forward.”

Alayna Alexander can be reached at alexandera5@duq.edu